Student loans: Everything you need to know if you have to resume payments on October 1st
Payments began again in September, being the first time since February 2020 that students have had to pay their student debt.
After being extended multiple times, the student debt moratorium came to an end. Payments resumed on 1 September and interest started to be accrued once more.
If you have not enrolled in the SAVE plan then payments returned to how they were at the beginning of 2020. Contact your student loan servicer to find out what you could expect to have to pay. Checking your details are up to date is also important.
Biden's dishonest insistence on means-testing what should be universal isn't just immoral, inefficient and uninspiring - the incompleteness of his student debt proposal is what attracted the legal challenge that killed it. pic.twitter.com/dE8E1Kprf2
— Holding Biden Accountable (@PushBidenLeft) August 29, 2023
You can find out your loan servicer by logging into StudentAid.gov or calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243.
What are your repayment options?
There are your original repayment plans. There is a one-year leniency program that will begin 1 October, 2023 and end on 30 September, 2024 which prevents people with student debts from falling into default.
The Department of Education spent the entirety of this administration claiming, declaring, professing that we should not return to the same broken student debt repayment system as we had before. Yet, we are doing exactly that.
— The Debt Collective 🟥 (@StrikeDebt) August 29, 2023
Federal student loans have more flexible repayment plans such as income-driven repayment (IDR) plans adjust your monthly payments based on your income and family size, making them more affordable. The government offers four income-driven repayment plans: Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR)
There is also the aformentioned SAVE plan. The SAVE plan aims to lower monthly payments for borrowers and eliminate them entirely for individuals who meet the income criteria. It will also halt the accumulation of unpaid interest as long as repayments are made promptly. You simply have to be enrolled in an Income Driven Repayment plan for paying back your student debt.